It All Started With A Lightning

Zimo's joy and William's pain

William felt that time was moving faster in this world than before. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed and he had turned two. Choice Day was still vivid in his memory as if it were yesterday.

In this world, you couldn't celebrate your birthday whenever you wanted, but you could celebrate your birthday when you turned one, when you took your first step into adulthood (16), or when you became a truly strong and respected person. Even if William had a noble father, he probably wouldn't celebrate another birthday until he was sixteen.

He was sitting in front of his teacher right now, listening intently.

"William, there isn't much I can teach you about the Argos language. I thought I could only teach you some normal reading and writing tricks, but you exceeded my expectations! You soaked up everything I gave you like a sponge. I think you're now as good at Argos as I am. Today I have officially stopped teaching you the Argos language. Now we will move on to other lessons."

The praise of his teacher made William happy. He knew he had a talent for languages, but the Argos language was much, much simpler than the Turkish of his previous life. It wasn't even like English. Even in his previous life, the compliments he received from his teacher always pleased him. If Mehmet hadn't been so good at everything, he was sure that all the credit would have gone to him.

Zimo took a deep breath and continued.

"I wanted to teach you etiquette as well, but it doesn't seem necessary. You've already learned by watching. So we will skip this lesson as well. Now I'll ask you, poetry or mathematics?"

William was lost in thought. 'What the fuck would poetry and mathematics do in this world where you always shout power, power, and power?' Angry thoughts flashed across his face. A few months ago, he had started reading the books in his father's study. He had finished 'History of Argos', 'The Hills of Argos', 'Ancient Geography' and 'Etha's Travel Journal'. There was only one conclusion he drew from these books. Even if he was a high-ranking officer in the palace, when a powerful person came, you had to bow before him. This power was both political and personal physical power. Even political power pales in comparison to personal physical power. According to Etha's diary, a king had angered a powerful mercenary over a minor disagreement, and when the mercenary got angry, he entered his palace, grabbed him by the neck, and executed him in the city square. This meant that no matter if you were a king or an emperor if you didn't have personal power, you were nothing. That's why he was so pessimistic about mathematics and poetry.

After a while, he woke up from his thoughts and looked at his teacher. He had a "sorry, but I have to say" expression on his face.

"Teacher, I want to learn poetry and mathematics too, but our world is not fair."

"What are you trying to say?" said Zimo questioningly. He expected this kind of answer, so he just wanted to know why.

"Teacher, I mean, will poetry and mathematics give me the power to kill my enemies?"

Now Zimo was surprised. He was expecting a simple "What good will it do me?" but frowned at this question. 'This brat is only two years old, but is he talking about killing?' he thought. He didn't speak and motioned for him to continue.

"Teacher, you know that the life of a noble may look good on the outside, but on the inside, it stinks like a garbage dump. I hope I don't have to tell you how bloody and dangerous it is. I believe you have also read 'The History of Argos'. When even the royal family we're vassals to is built on blood and bones... I mean, what's the point of things like poetry and math that don't have much impact on reality?"

Zimo could not hide his surprise at his words. Almost everything the brat said was true. Perhaps one day, this brat would become stronger and go to the battlefield. Unless he was a very high nobleman, there was no way to escape. With these thoughts, he gave up on forcibly teaching him poetry, but he still wanted to teach him mathematics.